'It is a miracle': Woman declared dead from coronavirus calls family 3 weeks later

A 74-year-old woman in Ecuador declared dead from the coronavirus was later found alive in what was described as a case of mistaken identity.

Alba Maruri, 74, was declared dead on March 27 from Covid-19 by doctors in the city of Guayaquil.

Her family were informed of her death last month and later sent what they were told were her ashes.

The woman awoke from a three-week coma in hospital last week and called her family, leaving them in utter shock.

De no creer. Alba Maruri, 74 años, paciente de Covid-19 fue dada por muerta el 27 de marzo en hospital del Suburbio y su familia recibió sus cenizas. Resulta que cremaron a otra persona y Alba estuvo inconsciente 3 semanas hasta ayer, que preguntó por su hermana. #Guayaquil pic.twitter.com/vuTvbrGpz8

— LaHistoria (@lahistoriaec) April 25, 2020

Her family visited the hospital morgue the day they were informed about her demise, but couldn’t get a good look at the body as they stayed at a safe distance. The family asked for the body to be cremated and later received the ashes.

“It is a miracle,” Maruri’s sister Aura said. “For nearly a month we thought she was dead.”

The Maruri family is now trying to help identify exactly whose ashes they currently were given. They have also asked the hospital for a refund and some compensation for telling them that Alba had died.